Photo: Instagram
She is usually a shy tomboy
By NyRee Ausler — Written on Dec 23, 2022
Rapper, The Game, recently shared a photo originally posted by his 12-year-old daughter, Cali Taylor, on Instagram and the backlash was quick.
The pre-teen was attending a Sweet 16 birthday party for rapper Diddy’s twin daughters.
In the photo, the young girl is wearing a metallic silver mini-dress with a white fur coat hanging off her shoulders. She is kneeling on one knee and looking into the camera in a seemingly innocent pose that irked some viewers.
The Game's daughter quickly drew backlash after posting her outfit on Instagram.
When Cali added the photo to her social media, the first person that commented said, “You are way too young & way [too] pretty of a girl to feel the need to dress this way. You have light in you, sweetheart! Be different, don’t try to be like everyone else!”
Another person agreed, posting, “This is just plain weird…. No 12-year-old should be allowed on Instagram let alone posting pictures like this. That Instagrammer even ended their comment with the hashtag #SaveOurChildren.
The Game acknowledged that his little girl was growing up in his own repost of the picture
“Somebody please tell the LORD to help… She was just 2 years old like a week ago… Now my baby is 12 years old, growing up & it won’t stop,” he captioned the post.
He also seemingly knew her mature outfit might stir up controversy, so he added a disclaimer to the post that read, “Before the internet get to INTERNET’n, me & her mother both agreed to let her do her make up for the young & beautiful @the_combs_twins sweet 16 birthday party.”
The Game was then forced to further defend his daughter's outfit choice.
After he caught wind of the comments being made about his daughter’s choice of clothing, The Game went to the comments section of a post by The Shade Room to defend his little girl and her mother.
He praised Tiffney Cambridge, his ex-fiancée with whom he shares Calif and a son, King.
"Tiffney is a school teacher with a masters degree & 2 other degrees who is an amazing parent & is very capable of raising our daughter to be great even if I wasn’t in the picture," he wrote.
He further explained, “Tiffney called me & asked me would it be okay for my daughter to wear the dress in the photo to the twin’s party.”
"After talking to her thoroughly for over an hour about it, I agreed to let my daughter rock [the dress], being that she wears a school uniform 5 days a week.”
He accurately pointed out that his daughter's outfit is not a reflection of anything other than her style, stating that she is a straight-A student — not that it should matter to anyone but Cali herself!
On a final note, the protective father added, “The twins had a futuristic birthday theme & my baby wanted to look great & be in full confidence going to support her friends’ celebration.”
“I am her father & her protector, and she is & will always be an amazing young woman. I wish everyone happy holidays & thanks for your opinions on a child that belongs to US, but we got this.”
Some Instagrammers gave the rapper kudos for being a good father while others took issue with the implication that the mother of his child’s education and job made her best qualified to make decision.
However, what critics failed to realize is that, regardless of anything else, the fact that Tiffney birthed the girl means that she is the best candidate to help her daughter make her own decisions!
NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington and author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment and news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.